State Rep. Chris Dorworth's drivers license reinstated after suspension for failure to have auto insurance

February 13, 2010|By Rene Stutzman, Orlando Sentinel

SANFORD – State Rep. Chris Dorworth, R-Lake Mary, who's bucking to become Florida's House Speaker in 2014, had his drivers license suspended in November for failing to have auto insurance, according to state records.

On Thursday, it was reinstated.

Dorworth, 33, a land developer, said Friday that he would never let his auto coverage lapse and the state got it wrong.

"I went down yesterday and showed them I had proof of insurance," he said. "It was wrongly suspended two months ago."

Dorworth said the mix-up may have come when he and his wife, Elizabeth Shale Dorworth, 31, ended their joint auto coverage in September. They now have separate addresses.

Chris Dorworth would not say whether they have separated.

Dorworth last week also resolved another auto-related problem: He had driven through several highway toll booths without paying, and the state had begun steps to suspend his license.

According to state records, he went through nine toll booths between March and November and owed $15.

He hired a lawyer, who negotiated a $65 settlement with an assistant general counsel at the Florida Department of Transportation, records provided by the department show.

Dick Kane, an agency spokesman, said Dorworth got no special treatment. Other motorists with unpaid tolls can and negotiate similar settlements, he said.

Dorworth said he did not intentionally run through toll booths. His transponder must have failed without him knowing, he said.

"It's handled," he said.

Still pending is a foreclosure suit filed against him and his wife two years ago by his mortgage company, claiming the Dorworths are in default on $1.5 million in debt.